At least from the first episode of Superman & Lois, it appears that Jordan Kent (Alex Garfin) has inherited powers from his Kryptonian father, and brother Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) exhibits natural human abilities when doing his sports thing. These elements are further explored in tonight’s second episode as Jordan is taken to the Fortress of Solitude to test his skill.
The two young men playing the super-sons talked about the possibilities that go with the powers at a recent TCA Press Tour Q&A to discuss Superman & Lois.
“With Jordan’s entire situation, the fact that he has a severe anxiety, and the fact that he’s growing up and everything’s changing, the powers, they’re an extra pressure on him,” Alex Garfin said. “It’s extra pressure, but all of a sudden he feels as if he has that purpose that he wanted, and he has the ability to change like he wanted. ”
Alex sees similarities between the powers situation to the interaction that Jordan Kent has with Sarah Cushing. “He feels understood for the first time. He feels like a person and it’s magical. It’s going to be awesome to play this role as he develops and becomes a full-fledged person, and he doesn’t feel as if he is constantly being repressed in the way that he was,” he said.
As the actor playing Jonathan, Jordan Elsass compared the possibility of one brother having powers and the other not having them to the situations faced by their powers. “Lois is still a superhero [without powers], and I think it’s going to be the same for the boys. Even if one of them doesn’t have powers, he’s still going to be a superhero in some way, and be brave and be strong for the other twin,” he explained.
“I think what’s really cool about Jordan and Jonathan’s relationship in the show is you get this dynamic where they’re totally, wildly different. Polar opposites. But they’re the exact same age. They’re twin brothers, they’re fraternal twins. They’re growing up the exact same time, so they can bond over the fact that they’re kind of sharing some very similar experiences, maybe with girls at school, with their friends, you know, whatever it might be. They’re going through the same kind of stuff as they grow up and they bond more and they become closer. I think as the show goes on, I think we’ll see more and more of that bonding and the closeness between them. That’s a really important element,” Elsass added. Garfin pointed to his own experience with his brother in real life, pointing out that even when they get into fights, there’s a deep and wide foundation of love.
“The word of the day so far has been grounded,” Elsass said. “I think that’s something that’s really important is that, not only is it just between the brothers, but the entire Kent family relationship is very real, and raw, and tangible, and it’s very grounded. It’s what brings the show to life in some ways.”
“Its great to have an opportunity to express teenagers in a more mature light than is often found, [with] them just lashing out and this and that,” Alex Garfin added. “When I saw the writing [for Superman & Lois], I was just so happy to see intelligence written in the characters, and part of that is the love, and I think hopefully people will relate to that when they see it.”
New episodes of Superman & Lois air Tuesdays on The CW – talk about the Kent brothers on the KryptonSite Forum!